Improve Communication Through Office Design

There are plenty of hurdles that a company has to deal with on a daily basis. Chances are, you deal with hard to please clients or fickle customers. But communication goes beyond those that benefit from your services and/or product. One area that is often overlooked is communication between employees. One huge way to improve communication between employees is through the design of space.

Many mistakes being made in offices are due to poor or hurried communication. Keeping everyone connected is a challenge in itself, and inevitable human errors are happening because of the way we stay in the loop.

There has been much discussion around the idea of an open floor plan as a way to encourage employee conversation. Millennials are especially drawn to collaboration areas and natural light, which is consistent with their values of sustainability and community.

By breaking down walls, employees are able to connect more often. Does this guarantee healthy communication in every case? According to a 2008 Asia-Pacific Journal of Health Management report cited in Scientific American, open floor plans increases blood pressure and staff turnover. One might argue that being able to provide employees with privacy will encourage productivity and creative thinking. Even something as simple as privacy screens if a private office is not an option.

The new Facebook headquarters are boasted to be the largest open floor plan offices. There has been discussion around whether or not this will be a good thing.

Making the conscious choice to lease an open floor plan office space should be for the benefit of the employee, not to cram in as many workers as possible. Keep in mind that not all companies run the same way.

When designing an office for communication, consider these points:

What type of work are your employees doing?
Heads down work might get disrupted by overheard conversations, so consider workplace distractions if you are working with an open floor plan. On the other side of the spectrum, highly collaborative environments would need impromptu meeting areas for brainstorming and planning.

What technology does your office use?
As more and more mobile workers are added to companies, it’s a good assumption you have some sort of webcam setup. Create a private area for this technology.

How many meetings happen because of chance run-ins at the watercooler?
Unexpected areas to meet and lounge will give you privacy away from a desk (and away from a coworker looking to steal your ideas).

What is the breakdown of personal versus public space?
Encouraging employees to express their personalities in the office is important for them to feel valued, creative, and productive. Give them the option to have a personal area for themselves as well as shared spaces for part of the team (or the whole office). There is no right/wrong ratio for personal versus public; decided what is right for your ideal working environment.

How much work is collaborative?
If you are constantly walking over to a coworkers desk to talk about a project and look at files, a shared table might be more beneficial to get work done quickly and effectively. Instead of wasting time walking back and forth, or shouting at each other, sitting at the same desk means more face to face time.

What personality types exist in the office at this current time? Inverts versus extroverts, and so on?
Different personality types are productive because of varying reasons. Many introverts feel weighed down by office chatter, and feel refreshed when they have a moment to step away and recharge. Adding in private areas will help everyone stay sane.

What do you think is best for communication in the office? And how can a design of an office encourage productivity and creativity?

What Carla likes most about interior design is having the opportunity to create spaces that speaks the company's brand, and improve their workflow. She loves reading about workplace trends, color psychology and keeps abreast with the latest furniture introductions and how it supports the workplace.